It was well-known after the draft concluded and going into the offseason that the Pittsburgh Steelers clearly had a need to address regarding depth at the outside linebacker position. The team’s top two backups by the time training camp got underway were Genard Avery and Derrek Tuszka who were uninspiring options behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Tuszka jumped on the moving train last season after signing with the team after initial cuts, being active for 15 games and recorded 247 defensive snaps with another 194 coming on special teams. Tuszka flashed at times, coming up with two sacks with one resulting in a forced fumble, but he was inconsistent at setting the edge against the run and couldn’t consistently pressure the passer.